Friday, October 28, 2016

State Department: No, We Won't Be Paying Ransom For Iran's Latest American Hostages

After the Obama administration paid the Iranian government at least
$400 million in cash for the release of four American hostages as part
of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, the Islamic regime took two more
Americans hostage and is now demanding ransom payments for their
freedom.

Americans Baquer Namazi and Siamak Namzi were both sentenced to ten years
in prison earlier this month after being accused of spying by the
Iranian government, an accusation falsely and often used against
Americans living or working in the country.

Iranian-Americans
Baquer Namazi and his son Siamak have been sentenced to 10 years in
prison and fined $4.8 million, according to Iran's official news channel
IRINN.Iran officials say five people were convicted and sentenced
for "cooperating with Iran's enemies," a government euphemism that
usually implies cooperating with the United States.

Siamak Namazi
was arrested nearly a year ago and became the first US citizen reported
to have been detained in the country since the announcement of the
Iranian nuclear program deal.

Just this week, American Reza Shahini was sentenced to 18 years in prison. From The Foreign Desk:

The
U.S. is "troubled" by reports of an 18-year sentence handed down to a
dual U.S.-Iranian national, a State Department official told The Foreign
Desk.

"We are troubled by reports that Robin (or Reza) Shahini, a
person reported to be a U.S. citizen, may have been convicted and
sentenced to eighteen years in prison. We reaffirm our calls on Iran to
respect and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, cease
arbitrary and politically-motivated detentions and ensure fair and
transparent judicial proceedings in all criminal prosecutions consistent
with its law and international obligations," the State Department said.

An Iranian court has sentenced a dual-citizen American Iranian
man to 18 years in prison for allegedly ‘collaborating with a foreign
government’ and for posts he published on his social media page, his
family members told The Foreign Desk.

Despite Iran
offering to release hostages for a price of $4 million, pocket change
compared to $400 million previously paid, the State Department has said
ransom will not be paid.

The
State Department insisted Tuesday that Iran has no reason to believe
that the U.S. will honor ransom demands for the release of dual
U.S.-Iranian citizens or others with close western ties imprisoned in
Iran.

"I can't speak to the motivation behind these detentions,
but if there's a perception out there, if one of the motivations were to
secure ransom, it is a false perception — it is wrong," State
Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.

"What I
can say again is that we do not pay ransom. We don't pay ransom," he
said. "We didn't then, we don't now. We're not going to change that
policy going forward."

Earlier this year the State
Department finally admitted the nuclear deal has likely emboldened
Iran's longstanding bad behavior rather than deterring it, something
critics of the deal warned about for years.

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I’m an American Patriot...part of the grassroots movement of bloggers spreading the truth about the corrupt and traitorous Obama regime and his sanctioned islamization of America. I'm also co-host with Craig Andresen of RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on American Political Radio. http://tunein.com/radio/American-Political-Radio-s273246/